Bush Appoints Sam Fox Anyway (Updated)

When it became obvious last week that the Democratic-controlled Foreign Relations Committee was unlikely to confirm big Republic donor and bankroller of the SwiftBoatLiars Sam Fox to the Ambassadorship in Belgium, Bush pulled one of his usual tricks and sidestepped the Congress by making Fox’s an interim appointment.

President Bush used the Congressional recess on Wednesday to push through his choice to be ambassador to Belgium and to fill two domestic policy positions, provoking Democratic ire with all three appointments.

The ambassadorship will be filled by Sam Fox, a major Republican donor who had withdrawn his name for the job in late March when it became clear that Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee were lining up against him.

Mr. Fox donated $50,000 to the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that opposed Senator John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. The group attacked Mr. Kerry’s record in the Vietnam War with advertising that included unsubstantiated accusations that he had not earned his war medals.

“It’s sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate,” Mr. Kerry said Wednesday in a statement. “Unfortunately, when this White House can’t win the game, they just change the rules, and America loses.”

Kerry is, of course, absolutely right. Rewarding campaign contributors and acting like a monarch rather than a democratically-elected president is what Bush does. No surprise there. Fox paid for an Ambassadorship and by gawd, Bush is making sure he gets what he paid for. They might as well tack the sign up on the White House door and be done with it:

First of all, there’s a question whether a recess appointment can be made with someone who doesn’t even have a pending confirmation in the Senate. Sam Fox’s nomination had been pulled from the Senate by Bush.